Allium schoenoprasum (Chives)
Chives, Cive, Onion Grass
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) are cultivated both for their culinary uses and their ornamental value. These small bulbous perennials feature attractive, pale lavender, globular flowers and thin, grass-like, dark green leaves which typically grow in clumps up to 12-18 inches (30-45 cm). With a strong onion or garlic scent, they are generally pest and disease free!
- Blooming in late spring - early summer, both flowers and leaves are edible. The flowers are perfect in salads while leaves are widely used as a culinary herb.
- Easy to grow, they thrive in fertile, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. Add grit to clay soils to improve drainage. Drought tolerant.
- Lovely in border fronts, rock gardens, herb gardens, vegetable gardens and containers.
- To achieve an impressive visual effect, plant them in groups close together.
- Attracts butterflies, but deer ignore it!
- Easily grown from seed, they will self-seed if spent flower heads are not promptly deadheaded.
- The world of chives offers very attractive cultivars: ‘Forescate’ with beautiful rosy red flowers, 'Corsica' or 'albiflorum' with white flowers.
- Native to the temperate North Hemisphere.
Many hundreds of Allium species exist, but only a modest few have made a name for themselves as garden plants. The ornamental onions distinguish themselves by their great diversity in color, inflorescence and flowering height. Many species bloom in early summer - just after the spring-flowering period and just before the exuberant full bloom of summer. All species can be used in the border. Certain small species are just perfect for a rock garden, and several lend themselves to naturalizing.
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Requirements
Hardiness | 3
– 9 |
---|---|
Heat Zones | 1
– 11 |
Climate Zones | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, A1, A2, A3, H1, H2 |
Plant Type | Bulbs, Perennials |
Plant Family | Alliums |
Exposure | Full Sun, Partial Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Late) Summer (Early) |
Height | 1' – 2' (30cm – 60cm) |
Spread | 1' – 2' (30cm – 60cm) |
Spacing | 6" – 9" (15cm – 22cm) |
Water Needs | Average |
Maintenance | Low |
Soil Type | Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand |
Soil pH | Acid, Alkaline, Neutral |
Soil Drainage | Moist but Well-Drained, Well-Drained |
Characteristics | Fragrant, Showy |
Native Plants | United States, Midwest, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin, Northeast, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Pacific Northwest, Idaho, Oregon, Rocky Mountains, Colorado, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Southeast, Alabama, Virginia, Southwest, Nevada |
Tolerance | Deer, Drought |
Attracts | Butterflies |
Garden Uses | Beds and Borders, Patio and Containers |
Garden Styles | Gravel and Rock Garden, Informal and Cottage |
digifuture / 123RF Stock Photo
While every effort has been made to describe these plants accurately, please keep in mind that height, bloom time, and color may differ in various climates. The description of these plants has been written based on numerous outside resources.
Requirements
Hardiness | 3
– 9 |
---|---|
Heat Zones | 1
– 11 |
Climate Zones | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, A1, A2, A3, H1, H2 |
Plant Type | Bulbs, Perennials |
Plant Family | Alliums |
Exposure | Full Sun, Partial Sun |
Season of Interest |
Spring (Late) Summer (Early) |
Height | 1' – 2' (30cm – 60cm) |
Spread | 1' – 2' (30cm – 60cm) |
Spacing | 6" – 9" (15cm – 22cm) |
Water Needs | Average |
Maintenance | Low |
Soil Type | Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand |
Soil pH | Acid, Alkaline, Neutral |
Soil Drainage | Moist but Well-Drained, Well-Drained |
Characteristics | Fragrant, Showy |
Native Plants | United States, Midwest, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin, Northeast, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Pacific Northwest, Idaho, Oregon, Rocky Mountains, Colorado, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Southeast, Alabama, Virginia, Southwest, Nevada |
Tolerance | Deer, Drought |
Attracts | Butterflies |
Garden Uses | Beds and Borders, Patio and Containers |
Garden Styles | Gravel and Rock Garden, Informal and Cottage |